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Mage
Always remember that power is a double-edged blade. One side light, the other dark. It calls to you, where you are most desperate; when victory seems worth any sacrifice. There is a price to be paid for such a gift, and many eagerly accept the bargain. Power alone is not to be feared. Fear, instead, those who wield it. — Jaina Proudmoore Clad in a golden robe, a blood elf closes her eyes to shut out the distractions of the battlefields and begins her quiet chant. Fingers weaving in front of her, she completes her spell and launches a bead of fire toward the enemy ranks, where it erupts into an engulfing conflagration. The air shimmers, as a draenei lifts his hands above his head twisting the air around him into a barrier of force engulfs him, blocking a barrage of attacks against him. Golden eyes flashing, a human stomps his foot into the ground as a crippling fire sets him ablaze, as swords clash against him, an inferno of fire spews out at the attackers, engulfing them in hellfire. Mages are supreme magic-users, defined and united as a class by the spells they cast. Drawing on the leylines of magic that permeates Azeroth, mages cast spells of explosive fire, arcing lightning, and subtle deception. Their magic can conjure monsters from other planes of exis-tence, or glimpses the future. Their mightiest spells change one substance into another, call meteors down from the sky, or open portals across continents. Masters of Time and Space Students gifted with a keen intellect and unwavering discipline may walk the path of the mage. The arcane magic available to magi is both great and dangerous, and thus is revealed only to the most devoted practitioners. To avoid interference with their spellcasting, mages wear only cloth armor, but arcane shields and enchantments give them additional protection. To keep enemies at bay, mages can summon bursts of fire to incinerate distant targets and cause entire areas to erupt, setting groups of foes ablaze. Masters of ice can command blizzards that tear into flesh and limit movement. Should enemies manage to survive this assault, mages can shrink them into harmless sheep in the blink of an eye. Powerful magi can even generate enhancements and portals, assisting allies by sharpening their minds and transporting them instantly across the world. Scholars of the Arcane Wild and enigmatic, varied in form and function, the power of magic draws students who seek to master its mysteries. Some aspire to become like the titans, shaping reality itself. Though the casting of a typical spell requires merely the utterance of a few strange words, fleeting gestures, and sometimes a pinch or clump of exotic materials, these surface components barely hint at the expertise attained after years of apprenticeship and countless hours of study. Mages live and die by their spells. Everything else is secondary. They learn new spells as they experiment and grow in experience. They can also learn them from other mages, from ancient tomes or inscriptions, and from ancient creatures that are steeped in magic. The Mage The Lure of Knowledge Mages' lives are seldom mundane. The closest a mage is likely to come to an ordinary life is working as a sage or lecturer in a library or university, teaching others the secrets of the multiverse. But the lure of knowledge and power calls even the most unadventurous mages out of the safety of their libraries and laboratories and into crumbling ruins and lost cities. Most mages believe that their counterparts in ancient civilizations knew secrets of magic that have been lost to the ages, and discovering those secrets could unlock the path to a power greater than any magic available in the present age. Creating a Mage Creating a mage character demands a backstory dominated by at least one extraordinary event. How did your character first come into contact with magic? How did you discover you had an aptitude for it? Do you have a natural talent, or did you simply study hard and practice incessantly? Did you encounter a magical creature or an ancient tome that taught you the basics of magic? What drew you forth from your life of study? Did your first taste of magical knowledge leave you hungry for more? Have you received word of a secret repository of knowledge not yet plundered by any other mages? Perhaps you're simply eager to put your newfound magical skills to the test in the face of danger. Quick Build You can make a mage quickly by following these sugges-tions. First, lntelligence should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution or Dexterity. Class Features As a mage, you gain the following class features. Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d6 per mage level *Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier *Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 + your Constitution modifier per mage level after 1st Proficiencies *Armor: None *Weapons: Simple weapons *Tools: None *Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom *Skills: Choose two from Arcana, History, lnsight, lnvestigation, Medicine, and Religion Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: *(a) quarterstaff or (b) a dagger *(a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus *(a) a scholar's pack or (b) an explorer's pack *A spellbook Spellcasting As a student of arcane, you own a spellbook with spells that show the glimmerings of your true power. See chapter 10 of Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting and chapter 6 of this book for the mage spell list. Cantrips At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the mage spell list. You learn additional mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Mage table. Spellbook At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing six 1st-level mage spells of your choice. Your spellbook does not contain your known cantrips. Preparing and Casting Spells The Mage table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of mage spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of mage spells from your spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + your mage level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example. if you're a 3rd-level mage, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination, chosen from your spellbook. If you prepare the 1st-level spell magic missile, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared. You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of mage spells requires time spent studying your spellbook and memori-zing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list. Spellcasting Ability Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your mage spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Ritual Casting You can cast a mage spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared. Your Spellbook The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you con-duct on your own, as well as intellectual break-throughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell re-corded on a scroll in an evil sorcerer's chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library. Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a mage spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a level for which you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying a spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the mage who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation. For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experi-ment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells. Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book—for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. Many mages keep backup spellbooks in a safe place. The Book's Appearance. Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own de-corative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you re-ceived as a gift, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap. Spellcasting Focus You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your mage spells. 'Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher' Each time you gain a mage level, you add two mage spells of your choice to your spellbook. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Wizard table. On your adventurers, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook (see the "Your Spellbook" sidebar). Magi Tradition When you reach 2nd level, you choose a magi tradition, shaping your practice of magic through one of three areas: Arcane Magi, Fire Magi, or Frost Magi, each of which are detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 2nd level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level. Font of Magic At 2nd level, you tap into the leylines running below all of Azeroth, giving you a reserve of magic within yourself. This reserve is represented by magi points, which allow you to create a variety of magical effects. Magi Points You have 2 magi points, and you gain more as you reach higher levels, as shown in the Magi Points column of the Mage table. You can never have more magi points than shown on the table for your level. You regain all spent magi points when you finish a long rest. Flexible Casting You can use your magi points to gain additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional magi points. You learn new ways to use your magi points as you gain levels. Creating Spell Slots. You can transform unexpended magi points into one spell slot as a bonus action on your turn. The Creating Spell Slots table shows the cost of creating a spell slot of a given level. You can't create spell slots higher in level than 5th. The created spell slots vanish at the end of a long rest. Converting a Spell Slot to Magi Points. As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend one spell slot and gain a number of magi points equal to the slot's level. Metamagic At 3rd level, you gain the ability to twist your spells to suit your needs. You gain two of the following Metamagics of your choice. You gain another one at 9th and 17th level. You can use only one Metamagic option on a spell when you cast it, unless otherwise noted. Careful Spell When you cast a spell that forces other creatures to make a saving throw, you can protect some of those creatures from the spell's full force. To do so, you spend 1 magi point and choose a number of those creatures up to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one creature). A chosen creature automatically succeeds on its saving throw. Distant Spell When you cast a spell that has a range of 5 feet or greater. you can spend 1 magi point to double the range of the spell. When you cast a spell that has a range of touch, you can spend 1 magi point to make the range of the spell 30 feet. Empowered Spell When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 magi point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of one). You must then use the new damage rolls. You can use Empowered Spell even if you have used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell. Extended Spell When you cast a spell that has a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can spend 1 magi point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours. Heightened Spell When you cast a spell that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can spend 3 magi points to give one target of the spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made against the spell. Quickened Spell When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 2 magi points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting. Subtle Spell When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 magi point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components. Twinned Spell When you cast a spell that can only target one creature and doesn't have a range of self, you can spend a number of magi points equal to the spell's level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 magi point if the spell is a cantrip). Ability Score Improvement When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2. or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Mysterious Restoration At 20th level, you regain 4 expended magi points whenever you finish a short rest. Magi Specializations Magi are spellcasters who favor magics involving the cardinal elements of the universe. Students gifted with a keen intellect and unwavering discipline may walk the path of the mage. The magic available to mages is both great and dangerous, and thus is revealed only to the most devoted practitioners. Arcane Magi Mages of the arcane are diviners of secrets, balancing the webb and flow of incredible mystic energies. These practi-tioners push their magical knowledge to its very limits. Those who master this craft are capable of releasing a barrage of unrelenting power upon their enemies. Arcanic Savant Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy an abjuration spell into your spellbook is halved. Arcane Ward Starting at 2nd level, you can weave magic around yourself for protection. When you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, you can simultaneously use a strand of the spell’s magic to create a magical ward on yourself that lasts until you finish a long rest. The ward has hit points equal to twice your mage level + your Intelligence modifier. Whenever you take damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If this damage reduces the ward to 0 hit points, you take any remaining damage. While the ward has 0 hit points, it can’t absorb damage. but its magic remains. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell of 1st level or higher, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the level of the spell. Once you create the ward, you can’t create it again until you finish a long rest. Tempest of Power Beginning at 6th level, you gain resistance to force and thunder damage. In addition, whenever you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that deals force or thunder damage, blasts of arcane energy erupts from you. This eruption causes creatures of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you to take force or thunder damage (choose each time this ability activates) equal to half your mage level. Durable Magic Starting at 10th level, the magic you channel helps ward off harm. While you maintain concentration on a spell, you have a +2 bonus to AC and all saving throws. Overchannel At 14th level, you can increase the power of your simpler spells. when you cast a mage spell of 5th level or lower (excluding cantrips) that deals damage, you can deal maxi-mum damage with that spell. The first time you do so, you suffer no adverse effect. If you use this feature again before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 psychic damage per level of the spell, immediate-ly after you cast it. Each time you use this feature again before finishing a long rest, the force damage per spell level increases by 1d12. Damage dealt by this feature ignores your resistances and immunities. Fire Magi While any worthy mage is an unparalleled expert in the use of magic and heavily dedicated to their craft, those who master the forces of fire tend to be a little more audacious than their peers. These mages take pride, even pleasure in igniting their enemies in wild bursts of flame. Fire Savant Beginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy an evocation spell into your spellbook is halved. Combustion Starting at 2nd level, you can unleash the flames that blaze within you. As a bonus action, you magically wreath yourself in swirling fire, as your eyes glow like hot coals. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits: * You shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. * Any creature takes fire damage equal to your Intelligence modifier if it hits you with a melee attack from within 5 feet of you or if it touches you. * Whenever you roll fire damage on your turn, the roll gains a bonus to equal to your Intelligence modifier. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest. Blazing Soul Beginning at 6th level, if you are reduced to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to draw on the sparks within you. You are instead reduced to 1 hit point, and each creature within 10 feet of you takes fire damage equal to half your mage level + your Intelligence modifier. If you use this feature while under the effects of your Combustion, this feature instead deals fire damage equal to your mage level + twice your Intelligence modifier, and your Combustion immediately ends. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest. Empowered Evocation Starting at 10th level, you can add your Intelligence modifier to one damage roll of any mage evocation spell you cast. Hot Streak At 14th level, the blazing energy of your spells intensifies. When you roll damage for a spell and roll the highest number possible on any of the dice, choose one of those dice, roll it again and add that roll to the damage. You can use the feature only once per turn. Frost Magi Frost mages stand apart from their colleagues, in that their chosen school of magic focuses on maintaining supreme control over the capabilities of their enemies. Mages who command frost perform chilling displays on the battlefield, rendering foes immobile as they bombard them with ice. Frost Savant eginning when you select this tradition at 2nd level, the gold and time you must spend to copy a conjuration spell into your spellbook is halved. Sculpt Spells Starting at 2nd level, you can create pockets of relative safety within the effects of your evocation spells. When you cast an evocation spell that affects other creatures that you can see, you can choose a number of them equal to 1 + the spell's level. The chosen creatures automatically succeed on their saving throws against the spell, and they take no damage if they would normally take half damage on a successful save. Ice Barrier Beginning at 6th level, you gain resistance to cold damage. You also gain the ability to defend yourself by momentarily encasing yourself in ice. When you are targeted by an attack roll, you can use your reaction after the attack roll is made but before damage is determined, to reduce the damage by an amount equal to twice your mage level. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Conjured Companion tarting at 10th level, you add the *conjure elemental* spell to your spellbook, the spell is a mage spell for you. When you cast *conjure elemental*, you are only able to conjure a water elemental and your conjured elemental does not require your concentration. Whenever you conjure a water elemental, it gains additional benefits: * The elemental hit point maximum is increased by an amount equal to your mage level. * The elemental adds your proficiency bonus to its weapon damage rolls. * The elemental gains the *ray of frost* cantrip, using your spell casting ability and level to determine its attack and damage rolls. Icy Veins At 14th level, you gain nourishment from the frost magic that you wield. When you expend a spell slot to cast a spell that deals cold damage, you regain hit points equal to the spell slot's level + your Intelligence modifier.